Newsflash: Effective communications strategy in 2011 is all about authenticity and transparency. Despite the fact that these two words are part of just about every industry conversation, we continue to see public relations firms make ethical missteps when it comes to counseling their clients.
USA Today reported yesterday the venerable Burson-Marsteller was behind a “whisper campaign” that encouraged newspaper reporters to expose Google’s Gmail feature Social Circle as a breach of individual privacy and a violation of federal fair trade rules. PR people share story angles with journalists. But when you try to plant a story – positive or negative – without exposing whose interests you’re representing, that’s not okay.
Adding shock to disbelief, the person behind the campaign is former CNBC correspondent, Jim Goldman. Some industry insiders hypothesize that he was working on behalf of Microsoft or Apple. This incident reminded me of when 5W PR allegedly sent out a tip to reporters that Lady Gaga was wearing its client’s body shaper – based on a false rumor they received from their own client!
How many breaches of editorial standards do there need to be in order for people to learn there are limits to what you should do to secure ink?